Method and apparatus for managing licenses for data in M2M system

This application is a U.S. national stage application under 35 USC § 371 of International Application No. PCT/KR2021/002205, filed Feb. 22, 2021, claiming priority to U.S. Application No. 62/982,175, filed Feb. 27, 2020 and priority to U.S. Application No. 63/022,879, filed May 11, 2020, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety into this application.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing a license of data in a machine-to-machine (M2M) system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for performing an operation for adding information on a license to data and managing the license of data in an M2M system.

Recently, introduction of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) system has become active. An M2M communication may refer to a communication performed between machines without human intervention. M2M may refer to Machine Type Communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT) or Device-to-Device (D2D). In the following description, the term “M2M” is uniformly used for convenience of explanation, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. A terminal used for M2M communication may be an M2M terminal or an M2M device. An M2M terminal may generally be a device having low mobility while transmitting a small amount of data. Herein, the M2M terminal may be used in connection with an M2M server that centrally stores and manages inter-machine communication information. In addition, an M2M terminal may be applied to various systems such as object tracking, automobile linkage, and power metering.

Meanwhile, with respect to an M2M terminal, the oneM2M standardization organization provides requirements for M2M communication, things to things communication and IoT technology, and technologies for architecture, Application Program Interface (API) specifications, security solutions and interoperability. The specifications of the oneM2M standardization organization provide a framework to support a variety of applications and services such as smart cities, smart grids, connected cars, home automation, security and health.

The present invention is directed to provide a method and apparatus for effectively managing a license of data in a machine-to-machine (M2M) system.

The present invention is directed to provide a method and apparatus for transferring license information of data to a counterpart M2M device in an M2M system.

The present invention is directed to provide a method and apparatus for checking whether or not it is possible to perform an operation for data and whether or not there is a right, based on a license of the data before performing the operation in an M2M system.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for operating a machine-to-machine (M2M) device in an M2M system includes: receiving data from a counterpart M2M device; receiving information on a license of the data from the counterpart M2M device; and performing an operation for the data based on the information on the license.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for operating a machine-to-machine (M2M) device in an M2M system includes: performing an operation for data; transmitting the data to a counterpart M2M device; transmitting information on a license for the data to the counterpart M2M device; transmitting a retrieval request message for the license of the data to the counterpart M2M device; and receiving a retrieval response message for the retrieval request message from the counterpart M2M device.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device in an M2M system includes a transceiver configured to transmit and receive a signal and a processor configured to control the transceiver, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive data from a counterpart M2M device, receive information on a license for the data from the counterpart M2M device, and perform an operation for the data based on the information on the license.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to manage data according to a license condition added to the data in a machine-to-machine (M2M) system.

Effects obtained in the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned above may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which will be easily implemented by those skilled in the art. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein.

In the present disclosure, the terms first, second, etc. are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another, and do not limit the order or importance of components, etc. unless specifically stated otherwise. Thus, within the scope of this disclosure, a first component in one embodiment may be referred to as a second component in another embodiment, and similarly a second component in one embodiment may be referred to as a first component.

In the present disclosure, when a component is referred to as being “linked”, “coupled”, or “connected” to another component, it is understood that not only a direct connection relationship but also an indirect connection relationship through an intermediate component may also be included. Also, when a component is referred to as “comprising” or “having” another component, it may mean further inclusion of another component not the exclusion thereof, unless explicitly described to the contrary.

In the present disclosure, components that are distinguished from each other are intended to clearly illustrate each feature. However, it does not necessarily mean that the components are separate. In other words, a plurality of components may be integrated into one hardware or software unit, or a single component may be distributed into a plurality of hardware or software units. Thus, unless otherwise noted, such integrated or distributed embodiments are also included within the scope of the present disclosure.

In the present disclosure, components described in the various embodiments are not necessarily essential components, and some may be optional components. Accordingly, embodiments consisting of a subset of the components described in one embodiment are also included within the scope of the present disclosure. Also, exemplary embodiments that include other components in addition to the components described in the various exemplary embodiments are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

In the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present disclosure rather unclear. Parts not related to the description of the present disclosure in the drawings are omitted, and like parts are denoted by similar reference numerals.

Although exemplary embodiment is described as using a plurality of units to perform the exemplary process, it is understood that the exemplary processes may also be performed by one or plurality of modules. Additionally, it is understood that the term controller/control unit refers to a hardware device that includes a memory and a processor and is specifically programmed to execute the processes described herein. The memory is configured to store the modules and the processor is specifically configured to execute said modules to perform one or more processes which are described further below.

In addition, the present specification describes a network based on Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication, and a work in M2M communication network may be performed in a process of network control and data transmission in a system managing the communication network. In the present specification, an M2M terminal may be a terminal performing M2M communication. However, in consideration of backward compatibility, it may be a terminal operating in a wireless communication system. In other words, an M2M terminal may refer to a terminal operating based on M2M communication network but is not limited thereto. An M2M terminal may operate based on another wireless communication network and is not limited to the exemplary embodiment described above.

In addition, an M2M terminal may be fixed or have mobility. An M2M server refers to a server for M2M communication and may be a fixed station or a mobile station. In the present specification, an entity may refer to hardware like M2M device, M2M gateway and M2M server. In addition, for example, an entity may be used to refer to software configuration in a layered structure of M2M system and is not limited to the embodiment described above.

In addition, for example, the present disclosure mainly describes an M2M system but is not solely applied thereto. In addition, an M2M server may be a server that performs communication with an M2M terminal or another M2M server. In addition, an M2M gateway may be a connection point between an M2M terminal and an M2M server. For example, when an M2M terminal and an M2M server have different networks, the M2M terminal and the M2M server may be connected to each other through an M2M gateway. Herein, for example, both an M2M gateway and an M2M server may be M2M terminals and are not limited to the embodiment described above.

oneM2M is a de facto standards organization that was founded to develop a communal IoT service platform sharing and integrating application service infrastructure (platform) environments beyond fragmented service platform development structures limited to separate industries like energy, transportation, national defense and public service. oneM2M aims to render requirements for things to things communication and IoT technology, architectures, Application Program Interface (API) specifications, security solutions and interoperability. For example, the specifications of oneM2M provide a framework to support a variety of applications and services such as smart cities, smart grids, connected cars, home automation, security and health. In this regard, oneM2M has developed a set of standards defining a single horizontal platform for data exchange and sharing among all the applications. Applications across different industrial sections may also be considered by oneM2M. Like an operating system, oneM2M provides a framework connecting different technologies, thereby creating distributed software layers facilitating unification. Distributed software layers are implemented in a common services layer between M2M applications and communication Hardware/Software (HW/SW) rendering data transmission. For example, a common services layer may be a part of a layered structure illustrated in.

is a view illustrating a layered structure of an Machine-to-Machine (M2M) system according to the present disclosure. Referring to, a layered structure of an M2M system may include an application layer, a common services layerand a network services layer. Herein, the application layermay be a layer operating based on a specific application. For example, an application may be a fleet tracking application, a remote blood sugar monitoring application, a power metering application or a controlling application. In other words, an application layer may a layer for a specific application. Herein, an entity operating based on an application layer may be an application entity (AE).

The common services layermay be a layer for a common service function (CSF). For example, the common services layermay be a layer for providing common services like data management, device management, M2M service subscription management and location service. For example, an entity operating based on the common services layermay be a common service entity (CSE).

The common services layermay provide a set of services that are grouped into CSFs according to functions. A multiplicity of instantiated CSFs constitutes CSEs. CSEs may interface with applications (for example, application entities or AEs in the terminology of oneM2M), other CSEs and base networks (for example, network service entities or NSEs in the terminology of oneM2M). The network services layermay provide the common services layerwith services such as device management, location service and device triggering. Herein, an entity operating based on the network layermay be a network service entity (NSE).

is a view illustrating reference points in an M2M system according to the present disclosure. Referring to, an M2M system structure may be distinguished into a field domain and an infrastructure domain. Herein, in each domain, each of the entities may perform communication through a reference point (for example, Mca or Mcc). For example, a reference point may indicate a communication flow between each entity. In particular, referring to, the reference point Mca between AEorand CSEor, the reference point Mcc between different CSEs and Mcn reference point between CSEorand NSEormay be set.

is a view illustrating each node in an M2M system according to the present disclosure. Referring to, an infrastructure domain of a specific M2M service provider may provide a specific infrastructure node (IN). Herein, the CSE of the IN may be configured to perform communication based on the AE and the reference point Mca of another infrastructure node. In particular, one IN may be set for each M2M service provider. In other words, the IN may be a node that performs communication with the M2M terminal of another infrastructure based on an infrastructure structure. In addition, for example, conceptually, a node may be a logical entity or a software configuration.

Next, an application dedicated node (ADN)may be a node including at least one AE but not CSE. In particular, an ADN may be set in the field domain. In other words, an ADN may be a dedicated node for AE. For example, an ADN may be a node that is set in an M2M terminal in hardware. In addition, the application service node (ASN)may be a node including one CSE and at least one AE. ASN may be set in the field domain. In other words, it may be a node including AE and CSE. In particular, an ASN may be a node connected to an IN. For example, an ASN may be a node that is set in an M2M terminal in hardware.

In addition, a middle node (MN)may be a node including a CSE and including zero or more AEs. In particular, the MN may be set in the field domain. An MN may be connected to another MN or IN based on a reference point. In addition, for example, an MN may be set in an M2M gateway in hardware. As an example, a non-M2M terminal node(Non-M2M device node, NoDN) is a node that does not include M2M entities. It may be a node that performs management or collaboration together with an M2M system.

is a view illustrating a common service function in an M2M system according to the present disclosure. Referring to, common service functions may be provided. For example, a common service entity may provide at least one or more CSFs among application and service layer management, communication management and delivery handling 404, data management and repository, device management, discovery, group management, location, network service exposure/service execution and triggering, registration, security, service charging and accounting, service session management and subscription/notification. At this time, M2M terminals may operate based on a common service function. In addition, a common service function may be possible in other embodiments and is not limited to the above-described exemplary embodiment.

The application and service layer managementCSF provides management of AEs and CSEs. The application and service layer managementCSF includes not only the configuring, problem solving and upgrading of CSE functions but also the capability of upgrading AEs. The communication management and delivery handling 404 CSF provides communications with other CSEs, AEs and NSEs. The communication management and delivery handling 404 CSF are configured to determine at what time and through what connection communications are to be delivered, and also determine to buffer communication requests to deliver the communications later, if necessary and permitted.

The data management and repositoryCSF provides data storage and transmission functions (for example, data collection for aggregation, data reformatting, and data storage for analysis and sematic processing). The device managementCSF provides the management of device capabilities in M2M gateways and M2M devices.

The discoveryCSF is configured to provide an information retrieval function for applications and services based on filter criteria. The group managementCSF provides processing of group-related requests. The group managementCSF enables an M2M system to support bulk operations for many devices and applications. The locationCSF is configured to enable AEs to obtain geographical location information.

The network service exposure/service execution and triggeringCSF manages communications with base networks for access to network service functions. The registrationCSF is configured to provide AEs (or other remote CSEs) to a CSE. The registrationCSF allows AEs (or remote CSE) to use services of CSE. The securityCSF is configured to provide a service layer with security functions like access control including identification, authentication and permission. The service charging and accountingCSF is configured to provide charging functions for a service layer. The subscription/notificationCSF is configured to allow subscription to an event and notifying the occurrence of the event.

is a view illustrating that an originator and a receiver exchange a message in an M2M system according to the present disclosure. Referring to, the originatormay be configured to transmit a request message to the receiver. In particular, the originatorand the receivermay be the above-described M2M terminals. However, the originatorand the receiverare not limited to M2M terminals but may be other terminals. They are not limited to the above-described exemplary embodiment. In addition, for example, the originatorand the receivermay be nodes, entities, servers or gateways, which are described above. In other words, the originatorand the receivermay be hardware or software configurations and are not limited to the above-described embodiment.

Herein, for example, a request message transmitted by the originatormay include at least one parameter. Additionally, a parameter may be a mandatory parameter or an optional parameter. For example, a parameter related to a transmission terminal, a parameter related to a receiving terminal, an identification parameter and an operation parameter may be mandatory parameters. In addition, optional parameters may be related to other types of information. In particular, a transmission terminal-related parameter may be a parameter for the originator. In addition, a receiving terminal-related parameter may be a parameter for the receiver. An identification parameter may be a parameter required for identification of each other.

Further, an operation parameter may be a parameter for distinguishing operations. For example, an operation parameter may be set to any one among Create, Retrieve, Update, Delete and Notify. In other words, the parameter may aim to distinguish operations. In response to receiving a request message from the originator, the receivermay be configured to process the message. For example, the receivermay be configured to perform an operation included in a request message. For the operation, the receivermay be configured to determine whether a parameter is valid and authorized. In particular, in response to determining that a parameter is valid and authorized, the receivermay be configured to check whether there is a requested resource and perform processing accordingly.

For example, in case an event occurs, the originatormay be configured to transmit a request message including a parameter for notification to the receiver. The receivermay be configured to check a parameter for a notification included in a request message and may perform an operation accordingly. The receivermay be configured to transmit a response message to the originator.

A message exchange process using a request message and a response message, as illustrated in, may be performed between AE and CSE based on the reference point Mca or between CSEs based on the reference point Mcc. In other words, the originatormay be AE or CSE, and the receivermay be AE or CSE. According to an operation in a request message, such a message exchange process as illustrated inmay be initiated by either AE or CSE.

A request from a requestor to a receiver through the reference points Mca and Mcc may include at least one mandatory parameter and at least one optional parameter. In other words, each defined parameter may be either mandatory or optional according to a requested operation. For example, a response message may include at least one parameter among those listed in Table 1 below.

A filter criteria condition, which can be used in a request message or a response message, may be defined as in Table 2 and Table 3 below.

A response to a request for accessing a resource through the reference points Mca and Mcc may include at least one mandatory parameter and at least one optional parameter. In other words, each defined parameter may be either mandatory or optional according to a requested operation or a mandatory response code. For example, a request message may include at least one parameter among those listed in Table 4 below.

A normal resource includes a complete set of representations of data constituting the base of information to be managed. Unless qualified as either “virtual” or “announced”, the resource types in the present document are normal resources. A virtual resource is used to trigger processing and/or a retrieve result. However, a virtual resource does not have a permanent representation in a CSE. An announced resource contains a set of attributes of an original resource. When an original resource changes, an announced resource is automatically updated by the hosting CSE of the original resource. The announced resource contains a link to the original resource. Resource announcement enables resource discovery. An announced resource at a remote CSE may be used to create a child resource at a remote CSE, which is not present as a child of an original resource or is not an announced child thereof.

To support resource announcement, an additional column in a resource template may specify attributes to be announced for inclusion in an associated announced resource type. For each announced <resourceType>, the addition of suffix “Annc” to the original <resourceType> may be used to indicate its associated announced resource type. For example, resource <containerAnnc> may indicate the announced resource type for <container> resource, and <groupAnnc> may indicate the announced resource type for <group> resource.

Resources are specified in terms of CSE. Resources are the representations of components and elements in CSE in a oneM2M system. Application data and commands representing other CSEs, AEs, and sensors are notified as means of resource representations to a CSE.